Today’s Isiah Thomas-Albatross Roundup

One day — maybe a couple of years from now, maybe a generation from now; it's hard to say exactly when — we'll no longer care about the Isiah Thomas Era, and all the comically bad trades the former Knicks' GM/coach/decision-maker extraordinaire pulled off in New York. All those involved will have long retired, and the whole thing will be relegated to a couple brief pages in the Knicks media guide, right before the section about how the Class of 2010 led the franchise to eleven straight titles. But that day hasn't come yet, and until Isiah's gang stops doing things, it's our duty to report on all of it.

Stephon Marbury, for example, will soon be doing things in China, where he's agreed to a deal to play for a team in Shanxi. The team's boss says that Marbury — whose contract doesn't include a large salary because he wants to promote his sneakers in China — is being brought in "to pay back our fans," which we assume is some form of cruel Communist punishment. Either way, Steph's got his work cut out for him: Shanxi is currently fifteenth in the seventeen-team league.

And as one Isiah mistake leaves the country, another's just about set to leave the Knicks: Eddy Curry will miss six weeks — he was scheduled for knee surgery yesterday afternoon — which likely spells the end of his days keeping the Knicks' bench warm. It's unlikely he'd play once he returns from rehab — he wasn't exactly a valuable member of Mike D'Antoni's lineup before the operation — and he's expected to seek a buyout after the season.